


Valentine's Coa Coa

by bettycooperthefirst



Category: Riverdale (TV 2017)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-10
Updated: 2019-02-10
Packaged: 2019-10-24 14:48:51
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 945
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17706311
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bettycooperthefirst/pseuds/bettycooperthefirst
Summary: A younger Betty and Jughead enjoy an innocent Valentines Day together.Short, but sweet.





	Valentine's Coa Coa

Jugheads parents were fighting again. Even at 10 years old, the sound of arguing between them was like the soundtrack to his life, something he almost found more normal than scary. But this time was different. It was Valentines Day.

Even as his parents started falling apart, arguing over ridiculous things like who loaded the dishwasher the “wrong” way and whether or not his dad “was even capable of putting his shoes away properly,” they always went out for Valentines Day. Even with their marriage crumbling around their son like a mountainside earthquake, they would always ignore it for one day a year and act like everything was going to be okay. But this year, they were screaming at the top of their lungs in the kitchen. They hadn’t even made a reservation at their normal dinner spot two towns away, too busy picking each other apart all week long.

So Jughead decided to slip out the door and walk to Archie’s house. It wasn’t until he was on the Andrews family doorstep that he remembered that they had left earlier that day to go on a weekend family vacation. Just as he was about to turn around and walk back through the cold to the Southside, the door next door flew open and Alice Cooper made as dramatic an entrance as she possibly could.

“Hal! I am not going to wait one more second for you. You better be in this car by the time it’s warmed up or I am leaving your sorry ass here.” She strutted to the drivers side as her husband rushed out of the front door, forgetting to even close it behind him.

A few moments later, a tiny blonde ponytail appeared in the door frame. 

“Dad! You forgot to-“ but the car was already whipping out of the driveway and Jughead was the only one who could see Betty Cooper standing there in her pink t shirt. The girl looked over at him and waved before he could process what had happened.

“Jug! What are you doing here?”

“I uh.. I was gonna say hi to Archie.”

Betty started walking towards him.  
“They went away for the weekend. I thought you knew.”

“Yeah. I guess I forgot. I’ll just walk back to my place.”

Betty smiled the way only she could, making him feel warm even in the cold winter air.  
“Don’t be silly. You look freezing and I just made hot coa-coa. Come inside! I have even marshmallows to put on top!”

He couldn’t say no.

The Coopers house was so unlike Jugheads that every time he entered he felt transported to a whole new world with porcelain figurines and perfectly shiny countertops. 

Betty handed him a mug and smiled again.  
“It’s a good thing you had that beanie on or you might have caught a cold.” 

He couldn’t help but hide a smile himself.

The two ten year olds sat down in front of the fire and started chatting about the previous week at school, Archie’s dads new truck and Cheryl Blossoms attitude in science class when asked to list the periodic table of elements.

“The only element I need to know is gold. I won’t be wearing any other trashy metal in my ears.” Betty mimicked, laughing.

“Jokes on her,” Jughead smiled, eating his last almost-melted marshmallow. “Californium is way more expensive than gold.”

When the two finally stopped laughing, Betty fixed her eyes on Jugheads and asked him the question he hoped no one would ask. “What’s going on Jughead? Why did you walk all the way over here after dark?” 

He considered lying, but the blonde looked seriously concerned, and in that moment, feeling the warmth of the fire, the coa-coa and a million of Betty’s smiles, Jughead decided to tell the truth.

“My parents are fighting.”

He expected the answer that Archie always gave to this statement: “again?” But what he got was completely different.

“On Valentines Day? They never fight on Valentines Day.”

Jughead was surprised. He didn’t think anyone else knew this. 

“How did you know that?”

For some reason, Betty looked equally surprised. “Well, I pay attention I guess.” 

He broke his gaze from her eyes in embarrassment.

“Juggie,” Betty whispered “I didn’t mean to make you uncomfortable. I just… I know how that is. I mean, it’s not exactly the same I’m sure, but… I know what it’s like to have your parents fight.”

Jughead looked back into Betty Coopers blue eyes and saw something he had never seen before. A bit of sadness poking in around the edges.

“I uh..” Jughead stumbled over the words, “I actually made a reservation for them, you know, at their favorite place. They usually do it but they forgot and I thought I’d take care of it for them since they would need it for tonight. I made it for 6:30.” They both turned to look at the clock on the wall. 9:02 PM.

Betty looked back at Jughead with an understanding that he hadn’t noticed before. He looked at the little porcelain figurine behind her, an elephant lifting its trunk, and the perfectly placed pillows on the couch and then back at the girl who he had always known but somehow didn’t know at all. And he realized that the Cooper house wasn’t so different from his after all.

And then the moment passed. 

“It’s late. Thanks Betts.” He said, clearing his throat. “For the coa-coa I mean.”

That warm smile came over her face again. He realized for the first time just how much he liked seeing that smile, how good it made him feel.

“Anytime, Jug.”


End file.
